A Case Study of the Role of Motivation in Second Language Acquisition

In the study of academic motivation in a language-learning setting, motivation has traditionally been considered an independent variable. In the present study distinct motivational types arediscussed: motivation about the language, confidence, external motivation, whether the class feels required, and self-reported motivation. Motivation about the language is found to be ofparticular importance in predicting outcomes, along with fun activities and activities thatpromote language use about students’ own lives and interests. Motivation is defined as the learner s orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language. Motivation isdivided into two basic types: integrative and instrumental. Integrative motivation is characterised by the learner s positive attitudes towards the target language group and the desire to integrate into the target language community. Instrumental motivation underlies the goal togain some social or economic reward through L2 achievement, thus referring to a more functional reason for language learning. Both forms of motivation are examined in light of research which has been undertaken to establish the correlation between the form of motivation and successful second language acquisition. Motivation in the EFL context is then discussed and studies which have been conducted in the field investigated.

Keywords:

Motivation , Second language acquisition , EFL context